Improvement in car-couplings



JOHNSON "& SMITH.

Car Coupling.

' Patented Mar. 15,1864.

Nv PETERS. PHD

.NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN T. JOHNSON AND NEWTON SMITH, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN.

EMPROVEMENT IN CAR-COUPLINGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 41,924, dated March 15, 1864.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN T.JOHNs0N and NEWTON T. SMITH, of Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State of Michigan, have invented a new and Improved Oar-Coupling; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference bein g had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a plan or top view of our invention Fig. 2, a side sectional view of the same, taken in the line mm, Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a perspective view of a portion ofone of the drawheads.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several. figures.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct our invention, we will proceed to describe it.

A A represent two draw heads,-which may be of the usual or an approximate form, and provided each with a plate, B, which projects from a shaft, 0. These shafts O are filled horizontally and transversely in the drawheads, the bearings of the shafts being in the sides of the draw-heads, and the bearings A' at one side of the draw-heads being of oblong form and sufficiently long to admit of the plates B being passed through them into the draw-heads. (See Fig. 3.) The shafts O are retained in proper position within the bearings d by means of keys or pins b, which pass vertically into the draw-heads and through the bearings d, in contact with the shafts O, as will be fully understood by referringto Fig.3.

In each draw-head A there is secured a spring, D. These springs may be of flat form and they are secured to the upper sides of the draw-heads by bolts 1). These springs bear upon the upper surfaces of the plates B, and have a tendency to keep the lower ends of the l ttter pressed downward, as will be fully understood by referring to Fig. 2.

The plates B have an inclined position in the draw-heads A, their lower ends projecting back within the draw-heads.

E represents a link or shackle, which has a shoulder, 0, at each end, and against which the lower ends of the plates B bear when the draw-heads are connected by the shackle. This link or shackle has a rod, F, attached to it at about its center, said rod projecting downward and having achain, d, attached to it by which the link or shackle may be secured and disengaged from the pl 1.1368 B and drawheads.

From the above description it will be seen that if one end of the link or shackleis thrust into either draw-head, the plate B in the drawhead into which the link or shackle is forced, will catch behind the shoulder c, and the link or shackle will be retained in the draw-head and also held in a horizontal position by the pressure. of the plate B upon it, so that the link or shackle may enter the other drawhead.

When both ends of the link or shackle are secured in the draw-heads, the latter are connected together, as will be seen by referring to Fig. 2. j

The shafts O of the plates B project at one end through the draw-heads, in order to admit of a key being applied thereto to raise the plates and release the link or shackle. One of these shaftsOprojects through the righthand side of its draw-head and the other through the left-hand side of its draw-head, as shown in Fig. 1. By this means the link may be detached at either side of the draw-heads.

Thus it will be seen that the link or shackle may be disconnected from the draw-heads .in two different ways.

This coupling will admit of the ordinary.

The combined arrangement of the obliquely- I pivoted plates B, having apertures 61, and projecting key-shafts O, with the draw-heads D and link E, in the manner herein shown and described.

JOHN T. JOHNSON. NEWTON T. SMITH. Witnesses:

JOHN T. WILMER, THOMPSON SINCLAIR. 

